The Politics of Containment: Therapeutic Education and the Challenge of Living Together Differently

Kineret Sadeh, University of Toronto

During the last three decades, sociologists have dedicated considerable attention to the rise of "therapeutic education," aiming to foster "emotional literacy," i.e., an ability to "read" and "express" feelings and navigate the emotional complexities of social life. While educational frameworks worldwide have enthusiastically embraced therapeutic education, sociologists criticize it for locating the source of emotional suffering within the individual, thus hindering individuals from identifying the broader social context of their hardships and mobilizing their feelings into political action. In their critique, sociologists conceptualize political actions as challenging existing power relations and liberating individuals from various forms of oppression. However, such a liberating lens may overlook other dimensions of "the political" that do not conform to the binary of oppression/resistance. One of these dimensions is the need for liberals and non-liberals to live together amidst their moral divides. Based on findings obtained through 50 semi-structured in-depth interviews, participant observation, and content analysis, I will portray how the therapeutic technique of containment serves ultra-Orthodox educators in Israel as a cultural tool. I will demonstrate how it enables them to cope with the challenge of living together with Others, mainly secular Jews, and conceptualize their efforts as outlining a prospect for "a politics of containment." The politics of containment is an ethical project wherein human subjects, social institutions, and local culture are constructed as tolerant. Rooted in epistemological modesty and a lack of judgment towards the Other, the politics of containment expands critical sociologists' understanding of political action beyond negation and liberation.

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 114. Rethinking Culture and Action